Lease provision requires renter to pay a $100 "copay" for repair costs -- is this a thing?

[Anonymous]

The $100 a month idea isn’t terrible, but the copay seems ridiculous and I say this as someone who has tenants. I typically prefer to have MY OWN repairmen check out any major issue so i know that it’s being handles properly. I definitely don’t want to encourage cheap half assed repairs.

I have definitely had some high maintenance tenants and i know that it’s a real pain, but i don’t think I’d sign a lease with that clause.

[Anonymous]

I've never heard of that but it's smart. There are renters that are very careless with how they treat their rental units. I think it's to deter people from breaking appliances due to being reckless and having skin in the game to take care of their place. I had a renter who kept breaking the dishwasher and those costs add up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never heard of that but it's smart. There are renters that are very careless with how they treat their rental units. I think it's to deter people from breaking appliances due to being reckless and having skin in the game to take care of their place. I had a renter who kept breaking the dishwasher and those costs add up.

How does one break a dishwasher? Is it cheap? Old?

[Anonymous]

Great question I kept asking myself. We lived in the house before we rented it and it was a good brand dishwasher, only a few years old and worked fine. According to her it wouldn't drain at some point and she just kept running it over and over causing it to back up and overflow and damaging the downstairs ceiling. She left the standing water for weeks before telling us. We replaced the dishwasher entirely and wouldn't you know it, same thing happened. That's a tenant problem. I've never had a dishwasher break on me my entire life, even those cheap college dishwashers you get.

[Anonymous]

..even those cheap dishwashers you get when you rent in college apartments.

[Anonymous]

This was in the lease I signed once as a renter but I agree that it's off-putting!

[Anonymous]

Never heard of it and I'm a longtime renter. Unlike most people here, I have zero desire to own and have rented from all sorts of landlords (corporate, individual, known-to-me, etc.)

[Anonymous]

I would be ok with this-- but then would make the landlord sit around the property for the 4 hour block of time for the repairman to come or not come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It probably covers the minimum fee a handyman charges just to come to the property to evaluate the repair.

Yes but that’s part of the landlord’s responsibility, unless the tenant caused the problem.

With WFH a lot of tenants are causing more wear-and-tear on homes. Makes sense that now a nuisance fee is attached.

What exactly- besides the toilet- is getting used more? Working from home I use the dishwasher less, it's one time a day versus two times a day when I was going to the office. I absolutely shower less often. I blow dry my hair less often. The temperature stays the same in the house as when I worked out of the house. I cook the same amount I just cook it three times a day versus only two.
Signed mom with a family of three plus a dog.

Fridge is being constantly opened and closed for more snacks, food, lunch, coffee, baby needs etc. A/C or heat is running all day instead of off from 7-6. Showers and toilets are being used all day. Carpet and flooring had greater tread patterns and if you have kids at home - spills and mess.

Utilities and electricity is being used more and therefore the appliances that run on them as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The short answer is no, this would generally not be legal. A landlord is required to maintain the premises in good condition. A landlord cannot make a tenant pay for that. In certain circumstances, a landlord and tenant may negotiate that the tenant does certain, specified maintenance; however, that must be negotiated in good faith and not for the purpose of the evading a landlord's legal obligations.

This is slum lord type shit. Tell them to pound sand.

In Virginia everything as a slumlord is legal. Sucks for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is genius if legal. I'm just upset I had never thought of this. If you've never been a small landlord that's not local than you have no idea the frustration with getting a call from a renter about a plug going out just to fork over hundreds of dollars to an electrician to find out that the gfci tripped because of... If the landlord is a decent person than this is 100% to get the buy in from the renter to not abuse the situation and to use some common sense not a money grab.

I would never call you about anything if I risked a deductible. I would just let problems linger or hack together my own cheap, incompetent fix until I moved out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is genius if legal. I'm just upset I had never thought of this. If you've never been a small landlord that's not local than you have no idea the frustration with getting a call from a renter about a plug going out just to fork over hundreds of dollars to an electrician to find out that the gfci tripped because of... If the landlord is a decent person than this is 100% to get the buy in from the renter to not abuse the situation and to use some common sense not a money grab.

This is not genius. It's shitty. If you don't want to be a landlord, then don't be one.

Yes. And the landlords complaining about tenants being home more thanks to WFH: You're not renting a room in a hostel. People are allowed to be in their homes, even if they do shocking things like open the refrigerator and turn on lights while they're there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The short answer is no, this would generally not be legal. A landlord is required to maintain the premises in good condition. A landlord cannot make a tenant pay for that. In certain circumstances, a landlord and tenant may negotiate that the tenant does certain, specified maintenance; however, that must be negotiated in good faith and not for the purpose of the evading a landlord's legal obligations.

This is slum lord type shit. Tell them to pound sand.

In Virginia everything as a slumlord is legal. Sucks for you.

I'm a Virginia lawyer. This wouldn't fly in Virginia. And your response of "sucks for you" makes it quite plain that you're a bottom feeding slum lord.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It probably covers the minimum fee a handyman charges just to come to the property to evaluate the repair.

Yes but that’s part of the landlord’s responsibility, unless the tenant caused the problem.

With WFH a lot of tenants are causing more wear-and-tear on homes. Makes sense that now a nuisance fee is attached.

What exactly- besides the toilet- is getting used more? Working from home I use the dishwasher less, it's one time a day versus two times a day when I was going to the office. I absolutely shower less often. I blow dry my hair less often. The temperature stays the same in the house as when I worked out of the house. I cook the same amount I just cook it three times a day versus only two.
Signed mom with a family of three plus a dog.

Fridge is being constantly opened and closed for more snacks, food, lunch, coffee, baby needs etc. A/C or heat is running all day instead of off from 7-6. Showers and toilets are being used all day. Carpet and flooring had greater tread patterns and if you have kids at home - spills and mess.

Utilities and electricity is being used more and therefore the appliances that run on them as well.

This is asinine. You're not running a hotel, you're renting a property. Tenants are allowed to LIVE in the property that they're paying for. You have no business being a landlord.

[Anonymous]

OP, it's quite common. We were a tenant and it was in our lease decades ago. It's to discourage a tenant who might be seen as a difficult personality from making very frequent, picky demands for very minor repairs. Repairs that most would think are unnecessary. It has the tenant think twice about complaining.